Teacher's payslip /FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 10- The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) has rejected a deal stuck on Friday that would have seen teachers return back to work after a four-day boycott.
KUPPET national officials argued on Saturday that the agreement signed by the Kenya National Union of Teachers and the government did not factor in their demands such as the harmonisation of house and commuter allowances to their members and hence it is invalid.
As such, the union’s Secretary General Akello Misori maintained that the strike is still on.
“The government failed to address all the issues we had raised and therefore we want to tell our members and the public that as far as we are concerned, the strike is still in force until we reach a consensus,” he emphasised.
As part of the deal, the government is supposed to employ on a permanent and pensionable basis the18, 000 teachers who are currently on contract.
In addition, 5,000 new teachers are expected to be employed in January 2012.
National Chairman Omboko Milemba has called on the public secondary schools and tutors in middle level colleges to adhere to the call not to report to work on Monday.
This stand-off is expected to paralyse learning in secondary schools for the second week running, a situation that will not sit well parents and Form Four students who are due to write their end year exams in November.
This week, at least four meetings between top government and union officials were held, most of them running into the night, as some schools started sending pupils home.
The government team, which comprised top officials from the Treasury and the Education Ministry, tried to persuade the union officials to call off the strike to no avail.
The teachers had earlier rejected another government deal that was to open the door for the recruitment of 9,000 teachers on permanent basis.
Another 9,000 teachers were set to be recruited next year.
They were demanding that the government recruit 28,000 teachers on permanent term
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